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Chuck Wright: Gun magazine limits infringe on rights

Posted:
03/23/2013 01:00:00 AM MDT

One of the most popular arguments in favor of gun magazine size limits is that supposedly "no one" needs a magazine capable of holding more than some arbitrary limit for legitimate purposes. That argument is disingenuous.

First of all, we don't have a "Bill of government-approved politically-correct needs," we have a "Bill of Rights." Furthermore, what is so magical about 15 rounds, which is the limit set by HB 13-1224? Why do people have a need for up to 15 rounds but not 16 or more? Obviously a 15-round limit is an arbitrary limit, but individual natural civil rights shouldn't be arbitrarily limited.

HB 13-1224 goes far beyond setting a 15-round magazine size limit. It also outlaws the transfer of every magazine that can be readily converted to more than 15 rounds, which is nearly every gun magazine in Colorado because most have a removable base plate for a magazine extender. Does no one have a need for almost every magazine sold in Colorado?

People do in fact have a legitimate need for gun magazine capacities greater than 15. Gun magazine capacities greater than 15 have proven necessary for self-defense during periods of civil unrest, protecting against looters after natural disasters and during attacks by multiple attackers. Law enforcement officers have gun magazines with more than 15 rounds because they need them. For the same reasons as law enforcement needs large magazines, ordinary citizens need them too.

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Of course criminals will always be able to obtain gun magazines with capacities of more than 15 rounds, which will give criminals an advantage over law-abiding citizens.

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